Flyco!

So what is Control-Line Carrier-Deck flying?

Control-Line model flying has been around for over 70 years. It’s a half-way house between free flight (“chuck it and chance it”) and radio control. Control-line models are physically flown by the pilot, who uses a handle and a set of thin steel wires attached to the aeroplane to give control over the height at which the plane flies, and to limit its flight path to a circle (usually 60 feet in diameter).

Carrier-Deck is one of many different types of control-line flying. It’s one of the simplest to describe (flying a simulated mission from an aircraft carrier) but one of the most difficult to perfect…

Here’s my latest attempt at a dual-class carrier model – and it’s my first electric one too! It’s a Hobby King glass-fibre fuselage/foam & balsa wing Messerschmitt Bf109T; it was intended for r/c racing but I’m just finishing converting it to c/l – not easy with a full-fuselage model as I now know (I learned a lot with the Dark Shark…)

Next up is a real walk on the wild side – another Bf109T, this time a 3D-printed kit from AeroFred plans. It’s like nothing the Quality Inspector and I have ever seen before – electric of course, but kitted in 6-inch chunks for CA assembly; We’re looking forward to the challenge!